CAMPAIGNERS fighting controversial plans to build a fire station in the green belt have discovered council bosses now have no idea how much the land is worth.

In July Merseyside fire authority voted unanimously in favour of a purpose-built fire station at Saughall Massie.

The scheme is now going through a planning application process and would seeWest Kirby and Upton fire stations closed and merged into a single unit .

But ward councillor Chris Blakeley blasted the council after it emerged the value of the proposed site is unknown.

His concerns follow a Freedom of Information request on September 14.

Town hall officers responded by saying the council did not hold a value for the land in its asset register.

Councillor Blakeley said: “Our green belt is precious and I find it staggering the council - having already engaged in negotiations with the fire authority - doesn’t have any idea whether the proposal represents a good deal for the taxpayer. You would think an asset register self-evidently would be a register of our assets.

“If they don’t know the value of the land how do can they possibly know if the proposed deal is value for money?

A council spokesman said: “The council only carries out regular asset valuations on those assets which are statutorily required to be valued as part of the completion of the council’s statement of accounts.

“These assets are listed in a register. Any sites which are declared surplus or identified for disposal are added to the register at the appropriate time.

“At this time, this site has not been declared surplus nor has a decision been taken on disposal.”

The fire station proposal proved to be highly-contentious when consultations were underway last year. So many concerned householders attended a public meeting at Greasby Methodist Church Hall last October that more than 500 were unable to gain entry.